title: Rescue of volume-regulated anion current by bestrophin mutants with altered charge selectivity.
abstract: Mutations in human bestrophin-1 are linked to various kinds of retinal degeneration. Although it has been proposed that bestrophins are Ca(2+)-activated Cl(-) channels, definitive proof is lacking partly because mice with the bestrophin-1 gene deleted have normal Ca(2+)-activated Cl(-) currents. Here, we provide compelling evidence to support the idea that bestrophin-1 is the pore-forming subunit of a cell volume-regulated anion channel (VRAC) in Drosophila S2 cells. VRAC was abolished by treatment with RNAi to Drosophila bestrophin-1. VRAC was rescued by overexpressing bestrophin-1 mutants with altered biophysical properties and responsiveness to sulfhydryl reagents. In particular, the ionic selectivity of the F81C mutant changed from anionic to cationic when the channel was treated with the sulfhydryl reagent, sodium (2-sulfonatoethyl) methanethiosulfonate (MTSES(-)) (P(Cs)/P(Cl) = 0.25 for native and 2.38 for F81C). The F81E mutant was 1.3 times more permeable to Cs(+) than Cl(-). The finding that VRAC was rescued by F81C and F81E mutants with different biophysical properties shows that bestrophin-1 is a VRAC in S2 cells and not simply a regulator or an auxiliary subunit. F81C overexpressed in HEK293 cells also exhibits a shift of ionic selectivity after MTSES(-) treatment, although the effect is quantitatively smaller than in S2 cells. To test whether bestrophins are VRACs in mammalian cells, we compared VRACs in peritoneal macrophages from wild-type mice and mice with both bestrophin-1 and bestrophin-2 disrupted (best1(-/-)/best2(-/-)). VRACs were identical in wild-type and best1(-/-)/best2(-/-) mice, showing that bestrophins are unlikely to be the classical VRAC in mammalian cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
authors.forename: Li-Ting
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Chien
authors.forename: H Criss
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Hartzell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000075002:Bestrophins; D002461:Cell Line, Transformed; D002586:Cesium / Q000378:metabolism; D018118:Chloride Channels / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002712:Chlorides / Q000378:metabolism*; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005136:Eye Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007473:Ion Channels; D017136:Ion Transport / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D008264:Macrophages; D008698:Mesylates / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D034622:RNA Interference
chemical_list: C491856:Best1 protein, mouse; C497463:Best2 protein, mouse; D000075002:Bestrophins; D018118:Chloride Channels; D002712:Chlorides; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005136:Eye Proteins; D007473:Ion Channels; D008698:Mesylates; C514900:best1 protein, Drosophila; C109153:(2-sulfonatoethyl)methanethiosulfonate; D002586:Cesium